The underclassmen celebrated Thursday like graduates passing their toughest examination.

And with some help from their veteran seniors, the Cubs treasured one of their most satisfying victories without one of their top players.

That made it easy to forget that they are only one game above .500, as they rallied for three runs in the ninth inning to steal a 5-4 victory from the formidable Nationals.

"I know our record (40-39) is not the best, but our position in the standings is great," manager Joe Maddon said. "I'll take that right now over the record. Either way, you want to be in first place. We're handy right now. The floaties are on, and the boys got it done."

"It's good to see the freshmen and sophomores coming through," Maddon said. "And the frosh had a good game. That's the kind of game they have to know they can do. We have to know they can do that. Young guys who have not been here for a long time need to get to that next level."

Candelario smacked his first major-league home run to put the Cubs ahead 2-1 in the seventh. Then he was drilled on the left knee by a 99-mph pitch from Blake Treinen to start a ninth-inning rally with the club down two runs.

La Stella hit a game-tying, pinch-hit single with two out and Jay followed with a two-run double that prompted nearly the entire dugout to empty.

Photos from the Cubs-Nationals game on Thursday, June 29, 2017, in Washington.

"I don't really care what their names are," Jon Lester said after pitching six innings of three-hit ball in 89-degree heat. "They're big leaguers. Tommy is like a gnat. He finds that ability to foul off pitches and have good quality at-bats. The same with Jay."

Candelario might be unavailable for at least Friday's series opener at Cincinnati after suffering a painful bruise. Switch-hitting infielder Ben Zobrist will stay with Double-A Tennessee through at least Friday.

For his part, Bryant made remarkable progress after receiving on-going treatment that reduced the swelling and allowed him to walk without a limp.

"We do lean on (Bryant) a lot for the offense and stuff like that, but there are plenty of guys in this clubhouse who are plenty capable of picking up the slack," La Stella said.

Bryant, the reigning NL most valuable player, believes he and his younger teammates will benefit from the challenges that this season has presented, so far falling short of expectations while coping with injuries.

"It's important we learn from things we're going through so it makes us better in the future," Bryant said. "At this point, and being as low as where we're at, it's going to make us better."